Aggies Cruise Past Alabama at Reed

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M senior outside hitter Tori
Mellinger had a team-high 12 kills to lead the Aggies to a 25-17, 25-22, 25-21
victory over Alabama tonight at Reed Arena.

It was the third consecutive victory for the Aggies, who complete
the season-series sweep against the Crimson Tide and improve to 18-5 overall.
A&M also improves to 10-4 in Southeastern Conference matches and takes sole
possession of first place in the Western Division with previous co-leader Arkansas
falling at Auburn tonight, 3-2.

It was Alabama's sixth straight loss, as the Crimson Tide falls to
14-12 overall and 3-11 in the SEC.

The Aggies used an 8-2 run in the opening set to pull away from an
8-8 tie and led the remainder of the frame. A&M held a 22-17 lead when
senior middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly put down back-to-back kills to put the
Aggies at set point. Mellinger followed with a kill to close out the set.

Although A&M hit only .214 in the opener, the Aggies held Alabama
to a .000 hitting percentage with the Crimson Tide connecting on only six kills
and committing six errors, while A&M tallied 17 kills in the stanza.

A&M never trailed in the second set despite both teams hitting
an identical .341. The Aggies held their largest lead at 17-10 before Alabama
began chipping away and mounted a three-point rally that put the Crimson Tide
within 22-20. Aggie freshman middle blocker Shelby Sullivan ended Alabama's run
with a kill, and the teams traded points for the remainder of the set with A&M
freshman outside hitter Sierra Patrick tooling the block for the set-winning
kill.

A&M spotted the Tide a 4-0 lead in the third set but
eventually took the lead at 10-9 as Patrick pounded down an overpass for the
kill. Kills by Pricilla Duke-Ezeji and Kayla Fitterer returned the lead to
Alabama, but the Tide served long on the next play and Patrick and senior
middle blocker Lindsey Miller teamed for a block to give the Aggies a lead they
would not lose. Those two points were the start of a 7-1 surge for A&M as
the Aggies built their biggest lead of the set at 17-12.

Alabama later got within 23-21, and A&M coach Laurie Corbelli
called her first timeout of the match. Miller came out of the timeout and put
the Aggies at set point after tipping the ball in for a kill. Junior setter
Allie Sawatzky followed with her eighth kill of the match to clinch the sweep
for the Aggies.

A&M outhit Alabama, .322 to .194 for the match, leading in
kills, 57-31. Sawatzky had 46 assists to lead A&M to a 54-30 advantage in
assists, and senior libero Megan Pendergast had a team-high 14 digs to help the
Aggies to a 57-37 advantage.

Mellinger completed a double-double with 13 digs, giving her 1,376
digs for her career and moving her from sixth to fourth in the A&M career
records. It is the most digs by an A&M player during the 30-point and
25-point scoring eras.

Senior opposite Alisia Kastmo joined Mellinger in double-digit
kills with 11, and Patrick pitched in a career-high eight kills in the win.

Duke-Ezeji led the Tide with 12 kills and Fitterer finished with
10. Alabama's Katherine White led all players with 16 digs, and Kanesha Burch
posted four blocks to lead Alabama to a 7-3.5 advantage in blocks.

The Aggies return
to Reed on Sunday for a crucial match-up against Arkansas, which will be aiming
to rejoin A&M atop the SEC Western Division. First serve is at 1 p.m. There will be a familiar face on the Razorbacks' bench as
assistant coach Carol Price-Torok played for A&M and coach Laurie Corbelli
from 2000-03.

In the first-ever
meeting between the two volleyball programs, A&M defeated Arkansas, 3-2,
earlier this season in Fayetteville.

Texas A&M Post-Match Quotes

Coach Laurie
Corbelli

(On what she saw in
the match)

I saw a really united Aggie group that had put their minds
to being as aggressive and as together as possible and really determined with
taking a match at a time and knowing how important each match is right now as
we begin to conclude our regular season.

(On Sierra Patrick)

When she came off the court, we told her "Just swing away. I
don't care if it hits the guy in the 10th row. Hit as hard as you
can. Go up with all you've got. Whatever happens, happens. We don't care." She's
just got that kind of a mode on the court anyway. She has an easy-to-accept
mode. She's really a player, too. She knows the game really well and she can
play the whole game. She's been working in practice to make me put her out
there. I give her credit because she knows I don't give her time on the court in
a match unless she's been showing in practice consistently that she should be
out there, and she has done that.

(On playing younger
players)

I think that once we started to see some consistency in
practice, we were ready to put them in the game. There's opportunity every day
in practice. We've been making it clear to them that every single day matters,
so when we see the consistency we know that we've got to make a plan before the
match on we can do. I don't want to play it safe. I don't want to just play
players that I know what I'm going to get. Now that these freshmen are all
doing fabulous in practice, it's really hard to get all of them out there. We
are looking for the best combinations and looking for the players that I think
have consistently earned it and then just going with it. We just trust that
they are going to be fine and that the older players on the court remain the
core, like with Tori Mellinger, for example. Tori is like glue on the court. She
passes, she digs, she blocks, she hits, she serves. She does everything but
set. It's very difficult to take Tori off the court, but we tried it some
tonight with a junior, Mariah Agre, to serve for Tori and give her a little bit
of a break. I thought it was fantastic. We don't do that a whole lot, and I'm
starting to feel like we are ready for that. It makes other people have to step
up and be the glue.

Senior Outside
Hitter Tori Mellinger

(On preparation
against Arkansas)

We definitely have been practicing a lot on being prepared
on Sunday, no matter what. We've had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the new
SEC schedule, and I think one of our big focuses has been to not let up at all
on Sundays and to just fight our hardest. That's what we plan to do with
Arkansas. We plan to play it like any other game, forget that it is Sunday and
forget that it's a new schedule. We will come in and really play our hardest. I
don't think we are going to treat it any differently. Our main goal is to win
the entire SEC so that is what we are pushing for. It's a definite plus winning
on Sunday, but we really just want the "W" in the column. We are hoping to win
the rest of our games and hoping some key things happen.

(On the younger
players)

I love seeing the freshmen out there because they jump on every
opportunity the coaches give them and they come in with such high energy. It's
really good for our team to have them out there. If we do get kind of
complacent and are tired, you do need the freshmen in there. They help us a lot
more than we help them, because they bring in newness and freshness to the game
that we forget about sometimes because we have been doing it for such a long
time. As far as advice goes, it is just encouragement during games. They just
need to know that you are covering behind them, you've got a pass for them or
that you are on the court playing for them, too.

Junior Setter Allie
Sawatzky

(On the team's
performance)

The passing was really good today. We were getting lots and
lots of digs. That allows all of us to keep trying and doing our things. I
guess the right opportunities came.

(On her personal
performance)

It's the same thing. I know that whoever I give the ball to,
I know they are going to get the kill and that's really nice to have.

(On the younger
players)

You could really feel their energy when they came in. They
were pumped. They wanted to go in and be aggressive and swing away. That's
great to have as a setter, to set them and know that they are going to go up
and just give it their all every time they swing.

****

REMINDER: Reservations
must be made by Tuesday, Nov. 6 for the season's final "Lunch with Laurie" on
Tuesday, Nov. 13. RSPV by contacting Kelly Stumph at kstumph@athletics.tamu.edu.

The luncheon will be noon-1 p.m. in the volleyball practice gym at
Reed Arena and will include a meal, video highlights and commentary from
Corbelli as well as players depending on class schedules. In addition, those
purchasing a lunch ticket will automatically be entered to win a Texas A&M
volleyball jersey autographed by the team. The drawing will be held at the
conclusion of the luncheon.

Free parking is available in lot 100g at Reed, and fans should
enter Reed through the main entrance facing Olsen Blvd. and follow signs to the
practice gym.